


Or Worse

by Omnicat



Category: Darker Than Black
Genre: Brother-Sister Relationships, F/M, Gen, Heaven's Gate War, Human/Contractor Relationships, Sleep
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-25
Updated: 2015-09-25
Packaged: 2018-04-23 09:04:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4871050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Omnicat/pseuds/Omnicat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"You’re lucky to have him. Do you realise that, Pai?"</p><p>Pai wakes up in her brother’s arms.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Or Worse

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Nederlands available: [Of Erger](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10450008) by [CattyRosea (Omnicat)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Omnicat/pseuds/CattyRosea)



> There's also a Spanish translation available! [O Algo Peor](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3817278/), by [Vanehei](http://www.fanfiction.net/u/668403/).

"He fell asleep?"

The voice, though barely intelligible, made Pai realise she was awake. And from that, she concluded she had finished her remuneration. Her Contract-induced sleep was impenetrable; once she gave into it for even a moment, nothing could stop or interrupt it until she had paid for her power in full, let alone a little muttering and some careless footsteps.

"Some guard he is. Anyone could have ambushed them," the voice went on, coming closer.

 _Carmine,_ Pai noted.

It was a pity she did. She loved sleeping. She knew many other Contractors with inconvenient remunerations got annoyed with them, but Pai found in it a source of... comfort, if she remembered the feeling right. It had been so long since emotions truly connected, and even then she’d been hard-pressed to put many of them into words yet.

"You can’t exactly blame Hei. He hasn’t had much sleep himself, lately. They’re running us all too thin."

_Amber._

"Hm," Carmine said, not agreeing but also not disagreeing.

Pai groaned. Did she really have to wake up?

"What timing these two have," Amber said teasingly. "Look, Pai’s waking up, just when someone has finally come to keep her safe while she pays her remuneration."

Of course she did. And it wasn’t that she minded, because there wasn’t anything unpleasant about being awake either, but...

Here at the threshold of Heaven’s Gate, where showing weakness _(like this)_ meant getting murdered in her bed _(or worse)_ , her brother’s presence made her want to savour the opportunities her remuneration brought. Though she couldn’t quite relate to the sentiment, she supposed it was ironic that the contract that made their world dangerous was also to thank for this safe way to avoid the greatest danger of all.

Pai shifted and yawned into her brother’s chest, feeling his warm arms around her. She was propped up against him, between his drawn up legs. His head had drooped to the side until his cheek rested atop her hair. The sun was setting and the air had cooled considerably since she had fallen asleep, but here, with him, she was warm and comfortable. Content.

"Shh, Pai. Don’t wake him."

Pai opened her eyes. Amber was leaning over them, hands on her knees, and smiling at Pai. Carmine stood a few feet away. There was a strange look in her pale eyes, huge in her hollow face; almost as if she had never seen either of them asleep before.

"I’m going to check the perimeter for traps," Carmine said, and turned away. "See if nobody was skulking around this place before we found you."

Amber stared after her for a moment before turning back to Pai and her brother. "Are the both of you unharmed?"

They had been when Pai went to sleep. And seeing as they were both still breathing, there was no reason to assume otherwise. No point waking her brother for his own confirmation. He could sleep if he wanted.

It would be fair; she did it too, after all. Pai knew her brother liked fairness – no, _needed_ it. Contractors liked, humans _needed_. When she first got her Contract, it had taken her a long time to understand the difference. The day to day of it was confusing even now.

It had taken an even longer time to start thinking that trying to understand might be worth the constant hassle.

"We’re fine."

Pai knew that no matter what, her brother would hold her as she slept, even if he could not help her. It was another thing that confused her about him, but this confusion was a pleasant one. It made her feel tingly inside. She knew her brother would always be there for her.

Though... always?

Pai’s eyebrows drew together.

"What happened? One minute you two were to my and Carmine’s left, the next you were gone."

Pai relayed the events that had led to their separation. While she talked, she extricated herself from her brother’s hold, careful not to wake him. Knowing from experience how uncomfortable it was to sleep with your neck bent, she gently pushed his head into a less awkward position. He would like that.

When Pai had finished her report, Amber nodded and shifted her attention to her brother. Unexpectedly, her eyes turned wide with – was it surprise or shock?

"Are those –"

Looking taken aback, she reached for his face, letting the tips of her fingers hover a hair’s breadth from his skin. Pai turned her head to look. By the scant light of the setting sun it was hard to see, but now that Amber had pointed it out, Pai wondered how she could not have noticed before: tears had cut tracks of clean skin through the grime on her brother’s face.

"You’re lucky to have him. Do you realise that, Pai?" Amber said softly.

Murdered in her bed. _Or worse._

"My remuneration would have gotten me killed long ago if it wasn’t for him," Pai said, no longer feeling warm and peaceful.

"That’s not what I meant."

Amber’s voice was low and faint, but there was an intensity behind it that belied her normally light-hearted demeanour. The touch she had been holding back finally happened. A hard, uncomfortable ball formed in Pai’s chest as she watched Amber cup her brother’s cheek, run the backs of her fingers along his jaw, trace the narrow lines of unsullied skin from the corners of his eyes to his chin. She had never seen such tenderness, such longing and affection on the face of another Contractor.

She had never realized how _obvious_ these things could be.

Pai leaned her head back against her sleeping brother’s shoulder, relaxing the muscles she had tensed and some that had done so on their own accord, without her noticing. She tilted her head upwards and noticed that despite the marks on his face, he looked peaceful in sleep.

"Yeah," she breathed. "I’m lucky, alright."

**Author's Note:**

> Comments on older fics will _always_ remain welcome. :)


End file.
